Plot Lines of Survival of The Fittest in The 'Cannery Row'

Imagine being in the grips of a mental illness and being told that the only way to rid yourself of depression was by shock therapy, or by cold water immersion to “shock” the illness out of you. This seems far fetched today, but it is a true representation of what treatment for mental illness looked like in the 1930s. The theme of survival of the fittest in the essay, 'Cannery Row', by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck gave an insight as to what mental health looked like during that time period. 'Cannery Row' is a novel set in the 1930s that captured the feeling and the people of Monterey, in which he followed a cast of characters, and gave the reader a true depiction of what everyday life looked like. Part of this depiction centered around lack of mental health and suicide that appeared numerous times throughout the novel. Suicide was prevalent in Steinbeck’s novel, 'Cannery Row', and is still prevalent, but what has changed today is better access to mental health facilities and services in Monterey.

Suicides Lines on 'Cannery Row': Survival of the Fittest

In 'Cannery Row', there were three suicides. The first being Horace Abbeville. Horace had two wives, six children, and a lot of debt. In the novel, Horace went to Lee Chong’s store, who is the local grocer, to settle his debt. Once Horace settled his debt by giving his shack to Lee, he went to the shack and shot himself. There was some insight that Steinbeck offered to the reader after this suicide. He wrote, “It was deeply a part of Lee’s kindness and understanding that man’s right to kill himself is inviolable, but sometimes a friend can make it unnecessary”. This alluded to the fact that human connection is extremely invaluable, and one never knows the impact they have on another human being’s life. Another suicide in this novel was WIlliam, who was the watchman at the town’s ‘whore house.’ Steinbeck described William as dark and lonesome, and went on to talk about how he had ‘dark and broody’ thoughts. Deep in depression one day, William went to three different people to talk about his suicidal thoughts. First he went to Dora, who thought she could joke him out of his thoughts, and told William, “Well, do it on your own time and don’t mess up the rugs”. He then went to Eva, who was a prostitute for Dora, and told her about his thoughts. Eva screamed at William and told him how selfish and dirty suicide is. William left Eva’s house and visited The Greek, because he said he would be able to rest in his presence. WIlliam told The Greek what he was planning on doing, and The Greek handed William and ice pick and told him usually people who talk about suicide are just all talk. William then picked up the ice pick and jammed it through his heart. There were three different people who could have intervened, but no one did. Another suicide was Joey’s father. Joey was talking to Willard, who asked where his father was. Joey stated that his father could not find a job for a year, and so he took rat poison, and died that night. Joey talked about the irony about that, because he said the next day someone stopped by to offer his father a job. Steinbeck was conveying the message to the reader to never give up hope.

Loneliness, poverty, and depression were prevalent all throughout the novel. Although this was the case, there were no actual solutions for the feelings of desperation some of the characters had. The mentality among Monterey and the Cannery at that time was survival of the fittest, either you conform and become stronger, or you will not survive. This was not only a common theme of the 1930s in Monterey, it was how the population viewed mental health. The use of hydrotherapy, metrazol convulsion, and insulin shock therapy were popular in the 1930s for treatment of mental illnesses. Also, 'Cannery Row' depicted that alcohol was a popular method for coping during that time. We now know that alcohol is a depressant, and should never be turned to as a form of comfort, and it could have played a large part in the depression that loomed over the Cannery at this time. During the 1930s, Asylums were the facilities that dealt with individuals who were suffering from mental health issues at. The treatment in these facilities was extremely inhumane, and it is by no surprise why many people saw suicide as the only option of relief when they were suffering, or going through hard times. It was not until the National Mental Health Act became law on July 3, 1946. It established and provided funds for a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The act made the mental health of the people a federal priority.

Suicide is still an issue in Monterey, but there are more opportunities to access help though nowadays. It is interesting that all three suicides in 'Cannery Row' were males, because that is still a common theme today. “According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, men account for 70% of all suicides”. Although mental health facilities are more accessible these days, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention states “society mistakenly views signs of distress as signs of weakness; because of this, our male population typically avoids the mental health support systems in place”. Specifically in the Monterey County, there are vast amounts of resources for anyone suffering from mental illness, or having suicidal thoughts. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Monterey county, these resources span from inpatient/outpatient treatment, free counseling services, and even a mobile crisis group that will go to a location of someone who is suffering and help determine the best avenue of approach. Even though we have grown in terms of providing services to those who are suffering, there is still a lot of room for growth. The NAMI believes that education, advocacy, service access, and support are paramount to preventing suicide and helping those who are in the midst of seeking help for a mental illness. This is on the exact opposite side of the spectrum from 'Cannery Row', where characters were left to fend for themselves, and did not have many options to seek help.

Conclusion

Although 'Cannery Row' was written more than 70 years ago, it highlighted some important messages regarding human interaction in Monterey. From the three suicides in the novel, one could conclude that the theme of all three of these suicides was there was a lack of hope and support from the community, and their peers. The novel showed us that we must provide services to our community, and access is key. Suicide is the tenth leading cause in the United States. As somebody who has had a family take their own life, there is definitely some room to provide better services to our population as a whole.

References

1. Steinbeck, J. (1945). Cannery Row. The Viking Press.

2. Shillinglaw, S. (2001). Introduction. In J. Steinbeck, Cannery Row (pp. vii-xii). Penguin Books.

3. Lisca, P. (1983). The Wide World of John Steinbeck. Rutgers University Press.

4. Beegel, S. (1986). Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Explicator, 45(4), 36-38.

5. Davis, R. C. (1997). Cannery Row and the National Canon. Western American Literature, 32(3), 232-247.

6. Hayashi, T. (2005). Trashing Monterey Bay: A study of pollution in Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Steinbeck Studies, 16(1), 11-28.

7. French, W. M. (2014). John Steinbeck's Cannery Row: A Centennial Reappraisal. Western American Literature, 49(3), 301-305.

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8. Railsback, B. (Ed.). (1995). John Steinbeck's 'Cannery Row': Essays in Criticism. Scarecrow Press.